Dr. Ríán Derrig, an Associate Research Officer at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute of the World Maritime University, will discuss his book, "The New Haven School" with Yale Law School professors. This book presents a well-researched narrative showing how foreign affairs have shaped American approaches to international law; challenges widespread contemporary interpretations of the New Haven School with unexploited and unpublished archival materials and interviews; and demonstrates the centrality of the New Haven School to the broader field of American international law.
His research focuses on the history and theory of international law, in particular of US approaches to international law, and on redistribution in the law of the sea. His research has been published by the European Journal of International Law, the Journal of the History of International Law, the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, the Irish Yearbook of International Law, and elsewhere. He regularly publishes on widely read legal blogs such as Opinio Juris, associated with the International Commission of Jurists; EJIL:Talk!, the blog of the European Journal of International Law; and Verfassungsblog, a prominent forum for debate on German and European constitutional law and politics.
The New Haven School describes a perspective to international law that primarily analyzes international law through the lens of public policy. In contrast to the more positivist perspectives on international law which preceded it, the New Haven School prioritizes sociological jurisprudence and aims to recognize and balance both internationally shared values and cultural and national diversity. As its name suggests, this approach initially arose among scholars of international law at Yale Law School, with the Yale Journal of International Law playing a significant role as a forum for its development over the past 50 years.
Ríán has taught and lectured on a wide range of international law topics, including on different methodological approaches to legal and interdisciplinary research, international human rights law, feminist legal methods, and jurisprudence and legal philosophy.
RSVP by February 18, 2025
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Center for Global Legal Challenges
Professors Oona A. Hathaway ’97 and Samuel Moyn
